Hydraulic brake



Oct. 7, 1941. c c s I 2,257,857

' HYDRAULIC BRAKE Filed April 1, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 /9 I J3 f [a (I i .77 W I I I V .9 l7 4 I o Inventar (Mr/r; 5 3/0/4003 v By Attofney Oct. 7, 1941'.

c. E. RICHARDS HYDRAULIC BRAKE I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 1, 1941 CAM/41 453 E/mwebs Patented Oct. 7, 1941 unu'ri zu STATES PATENT OFFICE HYDRAULIC BRAKE Charles E. Richards, Clarksburg, W. Va., assignor of one-half to Okey Marshall, Olarhburg,

W. Va.

Application Am-u 1, 1941, Serial No. scam (crises-s4) zClaims.

My invention relates to improvements in hydraulic brakes for automobiles and more particularly to safety equipment therefor.

By way of explanation, in the hydraulic braking systems of present-day automobiles, it is the common practice to connect the master cylinder directly to the brake operating cylinders through asingle hydraulic pressure line. If a leak occurs in any part of such aconnection between the brake operating cylinders and the master.

cylinder, all of the brakes will be rendered useless.

Having the foregoing in mind, it is the principal object of my invention to provide safety means of practical inexpensive construction .which may be embodied in such brake systems cylinder head of the auxiliary'cylinder assembly, and

Figure 9 is a sectional view of the frontcylinder head showing the several filler ports.

without material alteration in the basic arrangement thereof to positively prevent all the brakes from being rendered useless in the event of leakage in the line of connection to one brake oper-i ating cylinder.

'Another object is to provide means of the character and for the purpose above set forth,

, invention applied in the brake system of an automobile,

Figure 2 is a view in side elevation of the master cylinder and the auxiliary cylinder as- I semblytogether with parts associated with each,

and drawn to an enlarged scale,

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view in vertical horizontal section of the auxiliary cylinder assembly and master cylinder,

Figure 4 is a view in front elevation of the auxiliary cylinder,

Figure 5 isa fragmentary top plan view 0 said auxiliary cylinder,

Figure 6 is a fragmentary view-in vertical longitudinal section taken on the line 8-8 of Figure 4, s

Figure 7 is aview in end elevation of the auxiliary cylinder assembly with the cylinder heads detached,

to the spring I.

Figure 8 is a view in rear elevation of the rear Reference being had to the drawings by numerals, I have shown my .invention therein as applied to the brake system of an automobile,.

gear, only, being shown the chassis and running as suflicient forthe present purposes, and in which showing the numeral i designates the chassis, 2 the front wheels, and 3 the rear wheels, the numeral I designating the usual master cylinder, I the piston rod operative by the brake pedal 6 through the usual connections'desigiated l, as a'unit, and operating the master piston, shown in part at l, in Figure 3, in opposition According to my invention, an auxiliary cylinder assembly is provided which comprises a cylinderv block 9 cast, or otherwise formed, to' I provide four cylinders ll grouped in parallel relation about a common center, substantially in the form of a clover leaf, said block having a central axial, smaller bore ll extending therethrough, the cylinders II by virtue of the described arrangement providing an upper and a lower pair. a i

' A pair of front and rear cylinder heads i2, ii,

are opposed to what constitutes the, front and. rear ends of said block 9, respectively, to close the cylinders Ill, suitable gaskets M, it, being interposed between said heads and blocks and the heads l2, l3, being bored, as at IS, in alignment with the bore ii. The heads i2, i3, are-shaped to correspond with the transverse shape of the block 9, with the exception of the fronthead l2 which has an upper straight edge for a purpose presently seen. The gaskets l4, l5, correspond in shape to the ends of the block 9. The rear cylinder head i3 is provided in its inner face with a circular recess, or counter-sink ll concentric to the bore It, said recess opening into each cylinder ill for a purpose presently seen. The front cylinder head i2 has extending downwardly therein from its top edge a plurality of filler ports i8 communicating at their lower ends with the front ends of the cylinders 9, preferably at the tops ofthe latter, and, through which the cylinders may be loaded with brake fluid. Screw plugs i9 close the tops of said ports l8. 4 screw plug I9 is provided in the rear portion of each cylinder ill for releasing air from the cylinder to facilitate loading said cylinders. Key pins, as at Ill, suitably extending between the cylinder heads Preferably the members 22 a suitable washer 30 -38, or brake operating cylinders,

l2, l3, and ends of the block 9 prevent the heads from turning on the blocks.

Endwise slidable in each cylinder 9 is an annular piston, as at 2|. Each piston 2| is provided with a pair of cup-type resilient members 22 upon opposite sides thereof, respectively, with bevelled outer ends and slidably fltted in the cyle inder it], said members 22 being connected by an axial core 23 extending through the piston. and core 23 are termed of rubber composition molded in the piston. A coil spring, as at 24, in each cylinder and interposed between the front cylinder head l2 and the front cup member 22, into which the spring is fltted, urges the piston 2| and cup member 22 rearwardly in each cylinder ID.

The described auxiliary cylinder assembly is secured to the lront end 4, with the rear cylinder head l3 opposed to said end, and a suitable gasket 26 interposed between said auxiliary and master cylinders, the securing means comprising the following.

Extending through the bore H of the block 8 and likewise through the bores IS in the cylinder heads l2, i3, is a single bolt 21 having a tail end threaded into the front end of the master cylinder 4, as at 28, and a head 29 bearing against interposed between said head 29 and the front cylinder head l2. The tail end of the bolt 21 is provided with an axial bore 3i therein extending forwardly of the recess ll of the rear cylinder head l3, said bolt being diametrically bored, as at 32, to establish communication between the bore 8| and said recess A plurality of separate, fluid pressure lines 33 are coupled at rear ends thereof, as by couplings S to a plurality of nipples 35 tapped into the front cylinder head it to communicate with the bottoms of the ports it, said lines being suitably connected, as represented at 38, to the front and rear wheel brakes represented at 371 and 3d.

The use arid operation of my described inven tion will be readily understood. The cylinders iii and fluid pressure lines 33, which as will be manifest, lead to the brake operating cylinders,

of the master cylinder not shown. are filled with brake fluid through the ports in. Under operation oi the brake pedal S, fluid pressure in the master cylinder l is in troduced into the cylinders It behind the rear most cup members iii, and by way or the bores ti, s2 and recess ll, to drive the pistons 2i forwardly in eppcsition to the springs 2d. Such opera= tion of said pistons 26 creates fluid pressure in the cylinders id and fluid pressure lines 33 to he communicated to the brake operating cylinders,

not shown, of the front and rear brakes 3?, 28. I: a leak occurs in any of the fluid pressure lines the cup members 22 of the appropriate cylinder in form seals between said cylinder and the damaged line or brake operating cylinder, preventing fluid from the master cylinder I from becoming lost.

ceptible of modification without departing from the inventive concept, and right is herein reserved to such modifications as fall within the scope of the subioined claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a hydraulic brake system for an automobile having four wheel brakes, the combination with a master fluid pressure cylinder, of a cylinder block including a plurality of auxiliary cylinders, one for each of the brakes, grouped around a common center, a pair of cylinder heads for opposite ends of said block, respectively, means to attach said block to the master cylinder with the latter in communication with one end of each of said auxiliary cylinders to introduce pressure thereinto, pistons in said auxiliary cylinders spring tensioned against such pressure in the auxiliary cylinders, and means to establish communication between the other ends of said auxiliary cylinders and said brakes, respectively, comprising separate fluid pressure lines, the means first-mentioned comprising a single headed shaft extending axially through said block and through said heads, said shaft having a tail end threaded into said master cylinder and ported axially and diametrically, and one of said cylinder heads having a central countersink in the inner face thereof opening into each of said auxiliary cylinders and surrounding the diametrical ports.

2. In a hydraulic brake system for an automobile having four wheel brakes, the combination with a master fluid pressure cylinder, of a cylinder block including a plurality of auxiliary cylinders, one for each of the brakes, grouped around a common center, a pair of cylinder heads for opposite ends of said block, respectively, means to attach said clock to the master cylinder with the latter in communication with one end of each of said auxiliary cylinders to introduce pressure thereinto, pistons in said auxiliary cylinders spring tensioned against such pressure in the auxiliary cylinders, and means to establish communication between the other'ends oi said auxiliary cylinders and said brakes, respectively, cornprising separate fluid pressure lines, one oi said heads having a plurality of filler ports in the CHARLES E. RICHARDS. 

